Meeting Them
by MOCHS
Summary: Leon and Ada Kennedy celebrate their first Lunar New Year together in an untraditional way. One shot story. Please R&R, it's much appreciated!


**Meeting Them**

Arms looped around his wife's elbow, Leon Scott Kennedy followed Ada's lead as she jostled through the mass of worshipers gathered near the front of the temple who were fervently praying for luck with burning joss sticks in hand. The fumes created a misty cloud of smoke in the air and it smelled slightly sweet though it irritated his eyes a little. "Just a little further," His raven haired spouse whispered and she managed to pull away from the horde, finally advancing towards the back of the temple where the columbarium was located.

Some of the temple goers cast the odd couple a curious look as they made their way through as it was quite rare to see a White man set foot in a predominantly Asian place of worship. But when they saw Ada Wong though, they understood and left them alone. Still, they frowned slightly; it was inauspicious to greet the dead on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The back of the temple was deserted, just as she had expected. Majority of the Chinese were rather superstitious about observing certain rituals and paying respects to the deceased on the third and fourth days of the Chinese New Year instead of the first. Ada had no desire to jostle with people on those days though and she wanted this to be done in a less hectic manner. Besides, she was never one for tradition since young and her family didn't mind it one bit.

Leon glanced at his surroundings which were mostly wooden but still surprisingly well maintained. His wife carefully extricated herself from his hold and walked towards a metal cabinet filled with brown sticks. "Follow me, handsome." She whispered as her hands grabbed six joss sticks and she split them in half, giving one small stack to her husband. "Hold the red ends and then light the top with fire."

The blonde did as he was told and mimicked Ada who held down the ends of the incense sticks against a small flame in a burner. The fragments caught fire and she blew it out soon after, leaving three glowing orange embers that will gradually torch the sticks from the top down to the bottom. Once he was done, she walked towards a hall of white niches and stopped at the doorway.

"What's wrong?" Leon asked and the ex-spy replied, "You're the first guy I'm bringing to meet my parents." He gave a chuckle, "Well, I'm honoured. Let's not keep them waiting then." She was glad for his dry humour which helped lighten up the tense moment. Letting out a sigh, Ada Kennedy then stepped into the hall and walked down the rows of marble slabs before making a left somewhere in the middle of the room. Her husband followed shortly after and the couple stopped when the raven haired woman ceased walking near the end of the row.

The niches were conveniently at eye level and Ada starred at the pictures of Wang Guo Xiang and Feng Wen Ting that were located next to each other. Her father's picture was black and white but he still looked smart and handsome in his Masters graduation robes while her mother's photograph was coloured and her blonde hair shone vibrantly against the Sun's rays where she stood outside in her parents' backyard on her wedding day.

Silently, Ada reached up and brushed her fingers lightly against the two marble stones and Leon acknowledged his parents-in-law. Guo Xiang's niche held his clothes as they never found the body at the time of his supposed death all those years ago. Selecting which outfit to put into the sealed space was heart wrenching as she recalled how her mother sobbed over each article of clothing, inhaling her beloved husband's scent which lingered on the fabric. That was the last time Mrs Wang was herself and she just lost it, never recovering from the death of her spouse.

Wen Ting's niche on the other hand, contained an urn which held her cremated ashes. Ada wasn't present at the funeral as it happened during the peak of her career. Besides, she left her past behind when she became a professional in espionage. Attachments to anyone were deemed a weakness and the least she could do for her poor mother was to grant her a death free from torture. Ada was grateful the social workers managed to find a decent picture of her mother and locate her urn next to her father's.

Clearing her thoughts, she remembered what she was here for and the black haired beauty clasped her joss sticks with both hands and began a silent conversation with her folks.

_Hello Mother, Father. It's been a while… Hope you don't mind this untraditional visit. I got married, you can be at ease now._

She paused in her thoughts, not feeling like going on a lengthy tirade. "This is weird, Leon…" Ada spoke and her husband patted her back, "You can tell them about me." He pulled her closer so that she was now half-leaning against his shoulders.

_This handsome man here is Leon, he saved me back at Raccoon City. It took us more than a decade to realize our feelings for each other and we got married last year. We don't plan to have children but we do have a cat though, and he's adorable._

There was another halt with her words; it just felt so odd to have a lengthy chat with two people she lost touch with so long ago.

_You two don't have to worry about me anymore, just rest in peace._

Ada finished lamely and moved her joss sticks up and down as a sign that she was done. "I'm going to put these in the incense urn outside. You can join me when you're done." She walked away, leaving her husband alone, staring awkwardly at the two niches. When the sound of her footsteps grew softer, he began to speak, "She may not say it but despite the hard times she has endured since Mr Wang's death, Ada _does_ miss and love you both. Even if she has been scarred by those events, she does _not_ resent either of you. The past can't be changed but she grew up into a strong, confident, and beautiful woman. I am lucky to her met her and I _promise_ you both that I will look after her for the rest of our lives."

He moved the incense sticks in an up-down fashion too and walked away to find his wife still standing in the hall with her joss sticks in hand. "Thank you, Leon." Ada said quietly with a small smile and reached out to hold his hand. They walked out to the urn where they plunged their offerings into the ash and allowed the sticks to naturally burn off on their own.

The couple then stood in silence in front of the hall before Mrs Kennedy finally spoke up, "I've spent nearly three decades alone and miserable during each festive season. I think it's time that I stop dwelling on the past and just enjoy myself without feeling guilty that they aren't here."

Leon just squeezed her hand gently, "You know I'm here for you always." His wife just nodded and they headed back towards the crowd at the entrance, blending in with the people and not resisting the slight chaos. The Spring Festival was a time of rebirth and celebration after all; a little jostling never hurt anyone.

Besides, she missed eating sticky new year cakes as well as soaking in the sight and sounds of the lion and dragon dance displays. It was time for Ada to willingly share a bit of her heritage with Leon.

* * *

_Author's Note: It's currently the Lunar New Year (or most commonly known as the Chinese New Year) right now in real life and it lasts for 15 days._

_I decided to write a short story of Ada and Leon celebrating it in a way you don't expect. Yup, visiting Ada's dead parents. Her father is Wang Guo Xiang and her mother is Feng Wen Ting. Chinese names lists the surname first followed by the given name which are either one or two characters long. So Guo Xiang and Wen Ting would be her parents' given names._

_Wen Ting is Caucasian and was adopted by a Chinese couple. Guo Xiang is Chinese so his black hair and dark eyes are dominant traits that were passed onto Ada._

_As expected, Ada doesn't express her emotions that much when it comes to her parents. Her feelings about them were buried long ago when she became a spy. Deep down, she does love them but she very rarely shows it. Leon is the only one to pull her out of her shell._

_Hope you enjoyed it. :)_


End file.
